"What do you mean the fate of millions rest on the people in this house?" Aspen asked. "Just as I said. To explanation it fully I'd have to start at the very beginning" Oberon replied. "Please do. I think we deserve some answers" Aspen replied. "Very well but I must warn you. There are parts of my story that when they are said will change your life forever. Especially you Aspen. This is your last chance to change your mind" he said. Claire held Aspen's finger. Aspen looked down at her seeing the support in her tiny eyes. Aspen nodded. "Alright then. The story begins 4000 years ago in the age of the old gods. I was the first of my kind. Crafted from the pure untainted magic of the Great Forest that permeated the land of Tír na nÓg. The wind called me Fae. The trees called me Oberon. And the earth called me the Forest King"

"I looked around and as if sensing my loneliness, others of my kind began to appear from plants growing around me. Male and female Fae in many numbers were given life and from this our race began. We built a society where all were equal and loved one another. Magical gifts turned the forest into a paradise found nowhere else and one person in particular made my heart beat with passion. Her eyes were as clear as a pristine lake. Her skin the color of fresh pine straw. And her hair...her hair was like spun glass. Each strand was crystal clear but when exposed the sunlight it created prism. It was as if her hair was made of living rainbows. Her name was Arleigh and I swore to make her my mate. For an entire year I courted her to no avail until one night I found her bathing in a stream. I hid her clothes. She was not happy about that" Oberon chuckled.    

"I dared her to come for them and emboldened my jest smelling them. She stormed out of the stream and tripped on a pebble falling right on top of me. Her wet bosom pressing into my bare chest thrilled me but the way her eyes shimmered in the moonlight was far more enticing. I told her that she was the only one for me. That I would care for her until the stars themselves burned out. We ended up making love in that wet soil and as the sun rose, we declared in front of the gods and goddesses we were husband and wife. Years passed, and our lives stayed in contentment. There weren't many children born to our kind back then. Immortals have trouble with that but there was no pressing rush to have them. None grew old or sick, so our numbers didn't fall from death. One day something happened that would change everything. A human boy appeared in our realm."

"To this day I don't know how he crossed over. Maybe it was fate. Nevertheless, it was our first encounter with humans. We didn't know what to make of it. His face was young. A queer thing to us as we didn't appear any younger than 18 of your years. He looked to be at most 8 years old. He was massive to us. A foreign giant made us feel fear for the first time. His animal skin clothes were worn. Just the fact he wore the dead skin of an animal made some panic. We watched him run and stumble about the forest. His bare feet crushing beautiful flowers. His arms snapping twigs. A destructive creature and we thought it best to kill him. Arleigh thought different. "Are we to act on fear alone? Look at him. His face is like ours. Ten fingers and toes like ours. The first of his kind to come here and you wish to kill it" she said. Her words shamed us. Still we had to do something. The boy collapsed from exhaustion and after doing so we shrank him for our safety"

"Arleigh doted on him as he was delirious from fever. When he awoke he hugged her and cried. With a spell we were able to understand him and with that we went about asking questions. His name was Brandish and he had come to us by using a cave to hide from a horrible creature that terrorized the land he came from" Oberon said. "What kind of creature?" Claire asked. "A Formorian. We had heard of them years past. Bloodthirsty creatures far bigger than even humans. Meat eating giants that dwelled in the Darklands of Tír na nÓg. Banished there long ago after a war between them and the Tuatha Dé Danann, the collective pantheon of the gods and goddesses of the realm. Was it the thrill of discovery and adventure that compelled us to help his people? Or maybe we just wanted to make a real test of our power? Either way we chose to cross over to the human realm and smite this creature"

"Brandish guided us to his village. As soon as we arrived we saw the sheer carnage brought forth by the monster. Their huts crushed and flattened. Scores of the dead smashed flat into the earth. A mountain of excrement with skulls and bones in it. The beast had not only destroyed the village but had devoured some of the people as well. Somehow Brandish had found what was left of his home. A mangled body lay in the smashed branches it was made of. He recognized it to be his mother. We felt for the boy sobbing over the loss and went to hunt the Formorian. It's smell and the knocked over trees led us to it. By the time we caught up it was attacking another village. It was our first time seeing a Formorian. The stories did it no justice. Gods was she huge! A giantess in every sense of the word! Around 175 ft. tall. Her hair was a mix of red and black. Eyes like a starless night. Muscular in frame, not an ounce of fat. She was stomping the fuck out of the fleeing humans with this grin. This grin that showed off blood stained teeth."

"We would hear screams and then she would stamp them out. Her arousal fueled by their suffering. That hairy foul-smelling vagina dripped her juices over her victims. She reached down and plucked up two humans. They were young. Teenagers. Most likely a couple as finding mates that young was common. She pulled the boy from the girl and held them both in each hand. We hurried as fast as we could to stop her but to no avail. She brought the girl to her face and shook her delighting at her screams and her husband's begging. She dropped her into her maw and just swallowed her alive. The young man cursed her until she squeezed him and he went silent. She finished him off by chewing him to ribbons before swallowing. Excuse me a moment..." Oberon asked.

He sighed and collected his thoughts. "Nobody should have to die that way. We unleashed our magics on the giantess there was only 5 of us but we brought her to her knees. Fire spells burned her feet. Ice spells froze her eyes solid. Lightning spells set her hair ablaze. The smell of her burnt flesh hung heavy in the air as the giantess looked at us with utter contempt. "What was I supposed to do? Starve?" she asked. We had no answer to give. It's true that The Darklands is sparse in vegetation and animals but did she have to take pleasure in it? No humans were plaything to her. If it was just food, then she could've ate the livestock and be done with it. Winter was coming and with their village destroyed, most of the able-bodied men dead, digested, or both, it was unlikely they would survive. We took pity on them and brought them back to our realm"

"It was paradise to them. Tír na nÓg doesn't have seasons. More like an endless summer. No winters. Eternal harvests. With such advantages, the humans were fruitful and multiplied. Villages became towns and the boy we knew as Brandish became a man, a father, a chief, and finally an old man. It was heartbreaking to watch him pass on. It was their short lives that endeared humans to us. Five centuries passed peacefully before our society went through another momentous change. By then, the few dozen humans we had saved has grown into a population of over 1200. Fae however numbered just over 120. Over 500 years and we had only 12 children born to us. Me and Arleigh remained childless. The thing was 12 full blooded Fae had been born but there were some that took human mates. It was clear that having children by humans was far more successful as those half breeds was in the triple digits. Some of us began to consider taking human mates by force. Shrinking them down and raping them to make our numbers more even with humans."

"Reports of humans disappearing from the town reached my ears. I ordered a scout party to investigate. They were able to trace the shrinking magics to the homes of Fae. Inside were humans our size imprisoned. Naked and abused. It was clear what had occurred. I banished the Fae responsible to the Darklands. An act that created a rift on our society. Heated arguments broke out about having the humans in our realm. Some saw it as temptation. Others saw their cutting down forests to build new towns as a threat. And there were some that tried to reason with the others. A riot broke out between a group supporting protecting humans and others that wanted them gone as ecological disaster and the thinning of Fae purity they considered a threat. It came to a head when half breed men, women, and children were forced into the street and murdered with lightning magic.  I rushed to the scene when I got word of the atrocity and found my Arleigh had led the attack. I screamed at her why she would do such a thing as she was the one that convinced us to spare the boy so long ago. Her reply..."why should such a limited lowly creature be blessed with children? Why should we protect a species that destroys our forests, consume our resources, and breeds like vermin? Now they dilute our divine blood with their filthy mortality?!" she screamed as they subdued her"       

 "In my pain and rage I banished the entire group. Over half our population shockingly chose to follow them into exile. "We did not hear from them for an entire generation. By that time, we were more open to mating with humans, but we made sure they were given choice. It seemed like Arleigh and what had transpired was just a bad dream. Then one day she and those exiled had returned...and not alone. They had brought every Formorian they could find in the Darklands. I found out later than she had promised her followers the pick of any human they wished to fuck and as for the Formorians...half the human population would be their livestock. Livestock to breed and consume at their leisure. Can you imagine it? Immortals trying to kill one another. Brothers fighting brothers. Sisters against sisters. Parents vs. children. I have to give Arleigh credit. She commanded them extremely well. Fae have a natural magical resistance. A spell that would kill a human would be barely a flesh wound to us. The Formorians on the other hand had no such defense. She wisely sent them to attack the humans in an effort to divide our forces"

"The fight was brutal. Humans were barely a match for them. 15 Formorians against a battalion of 200 or so farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. The humans only advantage was their tools (as they had no weapons) were made of iron. While Formorians possessed no magic skills, they were still of a magical realm. They killed scores of humans. The grass stained red with blood. Littered with bitten off legs and arms, and clothes discarded as they preferred to eat humans naked and screaming. We couldn't help them. Our heads were tied fighting her invasion. As The battle progressed, we began to win. Human huntsmen turned archers were able to kill or injure enough enemy Fae to give us the push we needed. Arleigh sensed this and called for the surviving Formorians to act as a shield. Our spells became savage, maddening, horrific acts of power that shook the fabric of the realm itself. Then...it was over. We had won"

"It was a hollow victory. The humans, who were a good 1400 at the beginning of the day were barely 500 now. Their town half destroyed. We ourselves were in much dire straits. Only a few dozen of pureblood Fae had survived. It was a cold thing to see as we watched the souls of the fallen Fae ascend into the sky. We really began to question if humans living among us was folly. Survivors wanted to banish them. As if history was repeating itself, a Fae woman spoke out for them. "We cannot banish the humans. How many of us have died to protect them? We cast them out then those lives were lost in vain. They have intermingled their very blood with ours. They are family in name and right. When we cast our family out last time it led to this tragedy. Can we afford to call on such bad omens once more? These humans know only this realm as home" she said. The woman who spoke out...was Titania.

"Her words won the dissenters over. We put forth a new edict. We merged our societies into one. Fate was kind to us. We experienced 1500 years of prosperity. No wars civil or otherwise. Our numbers swelled. Even pureblood Fae saw a hefty increase in numbers. We refined our magics and taught them to our half breed kin. To promote equality, we even researched ways for humans to use magic. The result was what is known now as arcane. But our golden age would not last. Every year the borders of the Darklands would expand. Scouts sent on would not return. We formed an army armed with the iron quenched in the coldest waters of the land. We feared the worst. The worst came. She had returned with a force not seen before or since. It was as if the stars themselves fell from the skies screaming and burning and what was before the nightmarish onslaught was her."

"Within minutes, the town was ablaze. Bolts of unholy magic flew from figures of fiery form. We didn't know what they were, but we saw who led them. Arleigh. We didn't find her body so many years ago and thought she might've survived. We scrambled the stop her. "Hello Oberon. Long time since we last saw one another. How fares my husband?" she asked. "I'm no husband of yours" I said drawing my tiny sword. "Apparently not. You found comfort in another. Tell me woman. Did he tell you he'd love you until the stars burnt out? Lick your nethers to make you happy? Suck your toes to make you giggle for his delight? You are a fool to believe his love is as timeless as we are" she said to Titania. "You murderous hag..." Titania growled holding Gáe Bulg, the enchanted spear I had given her as a wedding gift. I held Titania at bay. "Withdraw Arleigh. These humans are not as defenseless as they once were. I warn you" I said. She laughed at me.

"You think you can stop this?! Look at them! They are a legion of my creation! The souls of fallen Fae steeped in the darkest magic of the realm. Festering hate for centuries! Behold my army! The Slaugh! And behold me its commander! Arleigh no longer but Ebonheart! Go my horde! Law waste to every filthy human and half breed you find! Obliterate this sickness from Tír na nÓg!" she screamed. Each one took off for a human or half breed. Hundreds....had to be hundreds...it wasn't just those that died in that battle but those that lived among us with the same kind of hatred. Their souls and bodies transformed by the sight of them.  A catastrophe building for a millennium and a half. We fought. We fought as hard as we could. The Slaugh was as menacing as they sounded. Magic barely hurt them. Iron weapons were effective but with no real body they felt no pain, fatigue, or fear. Imagine, tiny glowing creatures that can burn out your very soul with a touch."

"The battle was so fierce; the very fabric of reality began to tear asunder. Spells created by the moment with power unknown until the 20th century. Spells that warped gravity. Tore atoms asunder eliciting scorching explosions. It was truly hell. Me and Titania began to force Ebonheart back. Our iron swords blocking most of her spells and our own began taking their toll on her. An entire day passed and the battle continued without pause. Her forces were nearly spent by sundown and she chose to retreat. "Do not think you won for I have accomplished my secondary task. Soon you will see my words come to fruition. Know this my once husband. I will not stop until I have rid all existence of the dangerous species known as humans. You bought them a respite paid in Fae blood. I wonder how many will be comfortable with such a payment" she said before taking into the air and flying off with the remains of her Slaugh army."

"Overnight we began to count our dead or better yet who still lived. Ebonheart had given us a victory undistinguishable from defeat. Barely 125 Fae still lived. 200 or so humans, and at best 50 hybrids. The town was ashes. It's burning glow illuminated the battlefield for us to bury the lost. And when dawn arose, we understood what she meant by secondary task. It was an insane sight. The sky looked shattered. The land one ripe and fertile was blackened, wilting, and diseased. All of Tír na nÓg was mortally wounded!" Oberon yelled. He hung his head and silently wept.

Lily jumped onto his shoulder and wiped away his giant tears. "It must've been painful to watch. You need a moment?" Lily asked. "Yeah. Let me get some of that weed Keith has stashed in his room" he said standing up and walking away. "He still hasn't answered the questions we asked" Aspen said. "Give him time. I think he's been wanting to discuss this with someone for a very long time" Claire said sitting in her lap. "You know anything about Oberon mom?" Rebecca asked. "Only the stories mom told me. He left long before I was born" Lily replied. "Lily I've been meaning to ask. Who is your dad?" Aspen asked. Rebecca looked at her as she was curious of the answer. "Yeah mom. You never speak about my grandfather" Rebecca said. "Because I don't know who he is" Lily replied. Aspen and Rebecca were taken aback by that. Lily looked extremely uncomfortable with the question. "Rebecca...Titania..." she was saying before Oberon returned with a joint.

He sat down and lit it. Taking a deep puff, he held it in and let it out. "Gods...that's good shit. Back to what I was saying. The realm was dying. It couldn't sustain us anymore. You see magic was the lifeblood of the realm. Like blood, you can bleed a little at a time with no worries, but out battle had figuratively cut its throat. We had sucked up so much to cast spells, we had ruined it. We had only one viable option left. Move to Earth. We gathered what magic remained and we all fled out of our realm. This place called the British Isles was foreign. It was cold, rainy, cloudy, and dangerous. Fortunately, the gods and goddesses gave us instruction on how to survive. We were told to implant our magic in the forest like a crop seed. There it would sustain us. But there was a condition. Humans could no longer dwell with us."

"Everyone very much agreed. Ebonheart was gunning for them and none of us could afford to be caught in the fight anymore. With heavy hearts we sent them away. Time passed, and we began to break into individual tribes. Five in all. Acorn, sunflower, snowflake, clover, and rose. Each Fae bore the symbol of their tribe" he said. "Me, mom, and grandma have this rose birthmark" Claire said. Oberon picked her up and tickled her belly. "It warms my heart to see our bloodline survived this long. Come her you two" he said to Lily and Rebecca. They stepped towards him. He picked them up in his right hand and cuddled them all to his cheek. "For so very long I thought our tribe died out. And to see my step nieces...great great very great nieces to exist. I love you all so much" he said. "That's some weed" Claire chuckled.

"Very funny rolly polly" he said poking her pregnant belly. He sat them down on the floor. We stayed to ourselves for centuries. Not much contact with humans. Other than the occasional mate, we left them alone. It seemed that Ebonheart had either died in Tír na nÓg or she had forgotten her threat, that is until the year 1347. "Why does that year sound familiar?" Keith asked. "The Black Death Keith" Oberon replied. "Hold the fuck up. You're telling me she is responsible for that?! How?!" Keith said. "Ebonheart lost most of her Slaugh army in combat and what she had left was no match for all of humanity. No. She needed a different way to attack them. A flea. Just one flea. She cast a sickness curse on it and had it bite a lone man in Mongolia. Let this be a life lesson. Everything big starts small. That one little boy would give birth to the evilest Fae in existence and one tiny flea caused the death of 75 million humans."

"She had hoped the plague would spread all over the world and kill off the entire human population. She was not pleased that it hadn’t. Two major factors stopped the plague. Human biology and the collective efforts of the tiny races of the world. Fae, traveling koonago, Yaksha, and even a rogue tribe of Mogwai, assisted in using healing magics to thwart the spread" he said. "Mogwai? Yaksha?" Aspen asked. "Races you've yet to encounter. Anyway, she was beaten once more and slunk back into the shadows. Even with the massive loss of human life in Europe, humans began to expand well past cities and towns, this would cause conflict as they chopped down our forests. We understood their needs and chose not to fight them. After all they did outnumber us and were armed with iron weapons." 

Around this time, I began to think about teaching selected humans more about arcane. I figured if Ebonheart had attacked them before, she would do so again. Titania was not pleased at all about me leaving. I promised I would return one day. Promises...promises. I taught human's how to make homunculi to fight Slaugh. Instructed them how to make Philosopher Stones to craft as many iron weapons as needed. Healing runes to stave off disease. Even spells to trap magical creatures" he said. "Yeah, thanks a lot" Lily hissed. "Good intentions. Some did use them for such in my defense" Oberon said. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" Lily spat back. "Can we stay on topic?" Claire asked. Oberon and Lily nodded. “Ebonheart didn't stay quiet as long as I had hoped. She began to make plans for her next bid to wipe out humankind. She appeared in front of a Spanish monk and seduced him. Showered him in gold and riches on the condition he burn witches. In this case, witches were hybrids that survived to bear children and humans practicing arcane. He fell for her lies and history would know it as the Spanish Inquisition. I had to step up my efforts to prepare special humans who could defend their people. During my travel, word spread of a land beyond the western ocean. A New World of forests untouched. I returned home to deliver the news. Titania was pissed that I had. She accused me of turning my back on our home. I argued this was a better solution than constantly trying to trick humans into leaving us alone. Wasting magic was not wise as it was not as abundant as it once was. It was true. Our magic was ebbing away century by century."

  "Slowly, Fae stowed away and left for this new home with magics taken from their forests. Our tribe went as well in some numbers. They would become the ancestors of borrowers. Many years would pass and no word from them. We would send scouts and they would not return. Wars would come, sickness would come and still humanity thrived. Ebonheart knew her tactics weren't working. She needed something new. She sought out a young man named Gavrilo Princip in the city of Sarajevo and spoke to him in his dreams. She showed him a united Bosnia and the means to do it. Kill the archduke Franz Ferdinand. And so, it came to pass, and a new war emerged. A world war.  The war threatened to consume the world but thankfully it did not. Not happy about that she sent a new plague into the world. It would be known as the Spanish Influenza. She was not content with the millions dead and I saw that for each attack on humanity, her goal was getting closer. I decided then to stop focusing on the defense of humanity and hunt down Ebonheart. Something I should've done long ago."

"It took me decades to find her, but I did. I found her deep in the heart of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1944. It was a given that she would be involved in some way with a major war and sure enough I found her enticing a very evil man with promises of victory if he learned the ways of the occult and arcane from her" he said.

"Adolph Hitler...is there anything this bitch hasn't had her hands in?" Keith asked. "Immortals have all the time in the world to meddle Keith. When I faced her it wasn't alone. I had found a small group of borrowers that had been trained to destroy enemy machines. You know them as gremlins now. It sickened me to see my fellow descendants powerless and enslaved. I promised freedom if they helped me kill Ebonheart. We cornered her in a room dedicated to arcane research. She was not alone. A human woman was at her side as some kind of servant. Probably an attaché assigned by Hitler himself. "So all you have to do is use the souls of these Jews to make as many Philosopher Stones as you wish" she said to her. "And they can transmute anything to what we wish?" this giantess asked. "Anything. Oxygen into poison gas? Rocks into grenades? You can even shrink or enlarge humans. Think about it Fraulein Nacht. You 100 meters tall crushing the worthless Americans under your giant dirty feet. Tossing their tanks like toys. Raping to death their vaunted General Patton. His pride and body crushed inside your nethers all for the glory of the Reich" she said whispering in her ear.

"And it will not come to pass" I said making my presence known. "Oberon. You've seen better days. Your breakup with Titania cause those grey hairs?" she asked mocking me. "Nice try but we both know our magics are dwindling. How long do we have to do this? It's been 3500 years since you started this wicked crusade" I said. "As long as it takes. Look around you. Every generation these humans have found better ways to kill themselves. Soon they will have the means to destroy the world. For every magical being that exists in this world, my cause is more than justified" she said. "Says the person who has no qualms about burning children alive in their mother's arms. This ends now Ebonheart. Surrender and I will only seal your power away forever" I said drawing my iron blade. "Hahaha! You forgetting about them?!" she laughed snapping her fingers. The room filled with the fiery souls of the Slaugh. She ordered one to attack me. With a simple swipe of my blade I destroyed it."

"Surprised? I spent the last 20 years enchanting this splinter of cold iron. I gave it the name Rune Breaker. It can cut not only the physical but that which cannot be cut...like flames. it is the perfect weapon against your evil horde" I said pointing it at her. "Destroy them!" she yelled. I quickly casted defense magic on myself and the gremlins. "Attack the woman!" I yelled. Nacht was swarmed with gremlins faster than she could react. Their anger at their treatment fueled their ferocity. The giantess screamed as they tore into her clothes. She fought them. She grabbed one and crushed him in her hand. This only caused them to step up their assault. I had my hands full fighting the Slaugh. My blade cut them down. My spells extinguished their souls and they still fought. Soon the entire room was ablaze. It was clear her minions couldn't stand up to both my magic and my blade. She took on the fight herself."

"Getting your hands dirty?" I asked. "No, just waiting for you to tire yourself!" she yelled parrying my blade. I remember the feeling when I fought her. Love and hate mixed together. She kicked me on my back and the gremlins rushed to my aid. I watched helpless as she burned them to their very tiny bones. They died because of me. They only wanted freedom. "ENOUGH!" I said shoving her away with force spell. She wiped the blood from her lip and smiled. "You would murder our kin so callously?!" I yelled. "They became weak and polluted by human blood. They are no kin of mine!" she yelled absorbing souls into her blade. A fatal mistake. She raised it up to strike me and I defended. As soon as our blades touched it shattered her enchantment. I was astounded as the spell that she had used for so long broke in a chain reaction with the Slaugh powering it. It reverted to its old form. The same sword she used so long ago to defend humans. She had kept it. It was rusted from spilling blood so many times and broke easily"

" The momentum of my sword cut into her throat. Ebonheart fell to her knees. As the flames grew hotter and the smoke thicker...she laughed. "You did what I needed you to do. I can now move freely in the human realm..." she said before dying. Her soul departed her body and turned to flame. She had become a Slaugh. I readied my sword to extinguish her existence but I never got the chance. It flew into the body of Nacht and the woman screamed. When she stopped she stood up and straightened her torn clothed. "*cough cough* Until we meet again Oberon" she said before dashing out the burning room. The building burned to ashes taking with it the arcane knowledge she had given the Third Reich. It gave no little satisfaction as I had given her a new means to attack humans. She was limited to what she could do with a tiny Fae body. After all how many humans would listen to a three-inch-tall woman? Now she could possess any human she wanted to further her goals"

"A year later and I saw that humanity had discovered a way to destroy the world. It seemed her mocking had merit after all. I knew she would return and with the invention of nuclear weapons she could finally win. My powers were weaker after that. Dangerously weak. I sought out the most powerful Fae left in the world. I returned home to see Titania. Coming home was not as pleasant as I wished it. There were only a handful of Fae left in the Rose tribe. Almost all elders. They saw me with awe and trepidation. "Lord Oberon! We thought you were dead" an old friend said. "Nay Corbis. Although our old enemy Ebonheart wishes it so. It is why I've returned. Where is my wife?" I asked looking around. "...in the throne room. I should explain some things. Much has changed..." he said. "We can catch up later tonight old friend. Business before pleasure" I said flying off.

"It felt so good to be back. Magic long missed flowed from the ground and wood of the trees through my feet. The air itself blessed me with magic. It would take years to even remotely replenish what I had lost but Titania had never left. She would be as powerful as ever.  Surely, she would join me. I was her husband and no love were lost between her and Ebonheart. "Behold my wife! I have...what is this?" I asked seeing her laid on my throne half naked swollen with child. A man sat by her side rubbing her dainty feet. "The wind spoke true. You have returned" she said. "I asked a question. Why are you swollen with child? A who is this man touching your feet?!" I yelled. "It is far late to be jealous Oberon. I have not seen you in centuries. Was I to be husband-less and childless for eternity?" she replied. She had a point. Even we have needs and I had been gone for a very long time. "Who's this bloke?" the man asked. I stepped over to him."

"Lord Oberon. High Fae and ruler of this land. Remove yourself from this room. I would have words with my wife" I said. He got in my face. "Don't care if you're the bloody king himself. Not pint size wanker tells me to do anything" he spat. "Pint size? You need a lesson in respect" I said. With a snap of my fingers he dwindled down to a size befitting the annoying insect that he was. He fell on his back in terror. "You insult me. Impregnated my wife and threaten me in my own throne room. I loathe to kill humans, but I will make an exception today" I said raising my foot over him. "No!" Titania yelled casting a spell to enlarge him back. Just in time as well as my foot crashed down on his face. The man scurried off whimpering. "Where did you get such a man foolish enough to disrespect me?" I asked pissed. "Yorkshire. He carries our blood. Found him in prison. Apparent he used his gifts for less than honorable deeds when it came to the womenfolk" she replied standing up.

"A half breed I can except but one who forced himself on women with his power? You disappoint me almost as much as he did" I said. "Have you come to insult my choice in men or have you come to give up your witless quest to protect humanity?" she asked. "Witless? I remember you fighting to protect them" I said. "That was then and much has changed. There is an orphanage not far from here. Choked to the brim with children whose parents died in what they call the Blitz. The air itself becomes fouler by the year and more trees are cut down. Soon they will come for this forest. I have no love for humans" she said. "And yet you let one carrying human blood fuck a child in you. You took one facing human Justice, shrank him and mated with him. Did you marry him as well?" I asked. "No business of yours. Why did you return after so many years? Why now?" she asked.  "Ebonheart. Our last confrontation left me weak. I was able to kill her body but not her soul. I don't have enough power to destroy her and her Slaugh anymore...not alone. Put aside our differences and fight alongside me like days of old" I said. She laughed in my face."

"Look around you Oberon! Have your eyes deceived you? Our tribe is all but gone. Fae are almost extinct and in our place is weak, blood diluted borrowers that scrounge in the dirt to survive. No, I will not help you. If humans die out, then so be it. We will survive" she said. "You're a fool if you think we will survive that. Every time she attacks them her ferocity and cunning costs lives. Once it was hundreds, then thousands, then millions! Next time it will be billions. You had to know of the weapons they made to end this last war" I said. "Nuclear? Of course I know. Every magical being on Earth knows. You cannot unleash that much power and have it go unnoticed" she replied.

"Then you have to admit he would use them for her own purposes. Enough of them explode and it will poison the planet. Our fate is tied to theirs" I said. "Humans made those bombs. Let them perish by them. If necessary, we can flee to Tír na nÓg. Much time has passed. Surely the land has healed enough to support a handful of our kind" she said. "And if not you doomed us all. You've gone mad. By sacred right I order you to relinquish your station as Queen" I said. "GUARDS! Escort this fool out of my forest! By order of the Queen, I hear by banish you from these lands!" she yelled. Her guards appeared brandishing iron swords. "You would draw on your king?! You Corbis?!" I yelled. "Forgive me Oberon but as I said...much has changed" he said. I flew out my own throne room and grew to human size as I sat foot on the ground. They looked at me not with awe anymore. But with great fear. It wasn't usual for me to be that size but it gave me perspective. They looked so small and fragile to me. They looked...pitiful."

"Enjoy your ignorant bliss...as long as it lasts" I said before turning to leave. It's a bitter thing to be exiled from your own home. I dealt with it as best as I could" Oberon said softly. "So, you're saying my grandpa was a rapist fugitive?!" Rebecca yelled. "You never told her the truth?" Oberon asked Lily. "What was I supposed to say?! Gee honey. Grandpa used magic to mind control women so he could fuck them. Your grandma decided he was handsome enough to break him out of jail, shrink his rapist ass and knock her up with mommy" Lily hissed. "I wouldn't said as much but she's an adult. Some info is better than none. Lying rarely helps a situation" Oberon said. "Why don't you keep your parenting advice to yourself and use it when you have kids!" Lily yelled. "...who says I hadn’t?" he replied very softly. "You had kids?" Aspen asked. "Yes, and they had kids of their own. One of the hardest things I ever had to do was watch my hybrid children die of old age. Something I try hard not to think about. Having them gave me perspective on hard choices I had to make later on" he said. "What kind of hard choices?" Aspen asked. He looked at her with heavy sadness. "I will answer but let me continue"